I've been naming my escorts after mythical creatures:
A defiant called Basilisk.
A patrol escort called Manticore.
My current main ship is a fleet blockade escort called Banshee.
The heavy escort broke this a little and was called the Bonehunter, which is from te Malazan fantasy book series, a well I went to a few times for my KDF ships.

All other Fed ships, on the other hand, are named after people or places.
Tier 2 cruiser was the Nathanael Greene, American revolution general.
Exploration cruiser is the Edward Cope, a paleontologist.
Runabout called the Brandywine, a creek in Pennsylvania where a revolution battle was fought.
Assault cruiser called the Valley Forge.